Quit Planning Your Days Like This…

Tell me if you can relate…

I sit down on a Sunday night and write out my plan for the next day. Ideal morning routine, giant task list of all the things I’m going to accomplish, and plenty of time for rest.

Then? Monday morning hits and it all falls apart because I slept in a little too long, and the kids forgot their lunches, and I have a bunch of new emails in the inbox to respond to, and…and…and…

My beautiful plan lasts about eleven hours before reality shows up and ruins it. 🤣

Here’s the problem I’ve found with planning that way: I’m not planning for my actual life. I’m planning for a version of myself who wakes up rested, has zero interruptions, has endlessly cooperative children, and somehow gets fourteen hours out of an eight hour day.

That woman does not exist. Not even on a good day.

Plan for the REAL You.

So, instead of planning for the fake version of super-me, I’ve learned to approach planning from a more grace-filled perspective. One that takes the everyday version of me into account. 😉

Plan Your TOP 3 //

The things that MUST get done that day. Not “if I have time.” Not “it would be nice.” These are the things that genuinely cannot slide, no matter how the day unfolds.

Plan Your SHOULD DO’s  //

The things you need to get to soon, but it isn’t life or death if they get pushed off a day or two. These sit right below your Top 3, waiting their turn.

Plan Your COULD DO’s //

The things you’d like to get to, but aren’t urgent. Nice if they happen. No guilt if they don’t.

Here’s what that actually looks like for me on a normal Tuesday.

• TOP 3: Get the kids to school on time, finish and send off this week’s newsletter, make it to my daughter’s appointment at 3.
• SHOULD DO’s: Start a load of laundry, figure out dinner, respond to the non-urgent emails piling up in my inbox.
• COULD DO’s: Reorganize the pantry shelf that’s been bugging me, hang that picture frame, catch up on the book I keep meaning to finish.

On a REALLY GREAT day, I might get through all three lists. (This almost never happens.) On a pretty normal day, I get through my Top 3 and maybe half the Should Do list. On a hard day, I try my best to get through my Top 3 and call it a win.

Building your daily plan this way means you don’t let yourself down everyday by trying to accomplish a plan that was never realistic in the first place. You give yourself grace by focusing on what matters most – your Top 3 – and you simply do your best with the day that God’s given you.

2 Corinthians 12:9 is a perfect reminder here. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We tend to treat a day where all we managed was our Top 3 like a failure, but I guarantee you that God doesn’t see it that way. He’s not asking you to get through your best day, every day, in your own strength. He knows you can’t.

Instead He is present in your realistic day, and His strength meets you exactly there.

Here’s to planning with grace, for our real selves, in the actual day we’re going to have. Try it for yourself today – jot down your Top 3, and make a simple list of your SHOULD DO’s and COULD DO’s. And then? Pray over all of it, and jump right in.

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If your days have felt more stressful than grace-filled, you’ll love our free Daily Planning Guide + Worksheet! It’s a great place to start building your own Top 3 + To-Do’s! ⬇️

P.S. This process is something I’m building directly into our 2027 S.O.S. Planner! Space for your Top 3, right where you’ll actually see it. Room for your Should Do’s and Could Do’s too, without pressure to get to all of it. A planner that flexes with your real day, instead of locking you into the unrealistic expectations of an ideal one.

Want to be the first to see the new planner? RSVP to our reveal party below! ⬇️